Detention facilities are a part of a civilized society where persons are housed in a manner where personal freedoms are heavily restricted. Prisoners may include both well-behaved and unruly persons, some of whom may at times be inclined to be violent, to vandalize, or to hide personal items within the detention facility. Accordingly, it is desirable for the various fixtures within a detention facility to be designed in a manner that minimizes physical damage resulting from violence or vandalism and that prevents or greatly reduces any “hiding places” in or adjacent to such fixtures. In addition, heavy duty construction of fixtures provides a longer fixture life.
Early designs of metal lighting fixtures include structures that essentially are in the shape of a box and that have a hinged door. Such fixtures are known in the industry as “shoeboxes,” and have been manufactured for the prison industry using heavy gauge materials and security type fasteners.
An improved style of detention facility lighting fixture is known in the industry as a “clamshell,” which combines together the door and sidewalls of the fixture in a manner whereby the sides and front of the fixture are hinged together from one edge of one side. This moving portion is attached to a pan that is ceiling or wall mounted. The pan has a cavity in its backside, which is intended to be a trap for contraband that prisoners would try to hide. Although such fixtures became popular, they have several problems. For example, wall or ceiling surfaces in prison cells are often not flat. When the pans of clamshell fixtures are mounted on such walls or ceilings, they conform to the uneven surface and make it difficult to precisely mate the clam housing with the pan, and a resultant structure is often not properly flush and even. In addition, the pan of a clamshell fixture typically has a vertical leg that may allow a prisoner to conceal contraband by pushing the contraband a distance less than completely behind the fixture so that such contraband rests on the vertical leg. Additional problems are created by use of various conventional lighting fixtures.